Both the young lady and the young man beside her were seated at the table next to that of the Nine Suns Sect. Being able to sit in such proximity to the main stars of the night meant that they naturally had quite a lofty status as well.
Even so, the young man was obviously uncomfortable when he heard his companion's words.
"Qianbing, this is an official occasion. Don't cause trouble," the young man conveyed his voice directly to her in reply.
"Tch, so naggy!" the young lady snapped in response, obviously not taking his words to heart.
By now, the group from the Nine Suns Sect had already settled down.
"Now that everyone is here, let us start the feast!" City Lord Nanlan announced in a casual manner. "Bring in the food!"
With his instructions, dozens of waitresses streamed into the pavilion with plates of food in their hands.
Each of these waitresses had exquisite beauty and flawless skin, but their figures were obscured by their thick uniforms that safely guarded their innocence from the views of any lecherous men.
In any case, they were not the main attraction of the night.
The plates in their hands contained delicacies prepared using the meat of powerful wild beasts. These wild beasts all had strength that was at least of the Essence Condensation realm, and their flesh were naturally rich in energy. Food made from their flesh even contained some traces of World Origin Energy within.
It was not just the meat in the plates that was great. Even the vegetables used were all rare herbs that contained traces of World Origin Energy within.
Any martial artist would feel mentally refreshed after feasting on such precious food.
If ordinary mortals were allowed to enjoy these delicacies, their lifespan would increase by at least a few years!
Lu Tianzi marvelled at the taste of the food as he tucked in.
As expected of the influence directly under the lead of the City Lord, Bluenight Palace was truly extravagant in their ways!
But Lu Tianzi quickly realised something strange.
Other than the few tables around them, most of the other tables emptied out rather quickly. The people who were originally seated there started to move around the pavilion, taking the chance to speak to others instead.
Lu Tianzi simply could not understand why these people would choose not to enjoy this awesome feast that had been specially prepared for them.
But to these people, only those peak figures of Bluenight City could afford to waste this opportune time to continue feasting!
In any case, most of them were all either leaders of their own influences, or heavily nurtured members of the younger generation. Otherwise, they would not even qualify to attend this grand feast.
Thus, if they really wanted to enjoy such delicacies in the future, they could easily do so just by spending a little next time.
"Greetings to Sect Master Nanhui!"
To Lu Tianzi's surprise, the first person to approach the Nine Suns Sect's table was actually Inscription Master Nanbai.
As one of the leaders within the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, he was naturally invited to the grand feast as well.
"Inscription Master Nanbai," Sect Master Nanhui nodded in acknowledgement.
"Greetings to Inscription Master Nanbai!" the group of five juniors stood up respectfully immediately.
"Mm," Inscription Master Nanbai nodded to them all as Lu Tianzi walked over to him.
"Is Senior Yueya here as well?" Lu Tianzi asked curiously.
"Hahaha! How could she be here?" Inscription Master Nanbai laughed heartily before shaking his head. "In any case, I am just here to greet your Sect Master. I will have to go around and network a little now. You are the star of the night so I shall not hog you to myself. Enjoy!"
Lu Tianzi initially thought that Inscription Master Nanbai was just exaggerating things, but he soon realised just how wrong he was.
"I am from the Firebrand Smith Sect. Do visit us if you have the time!"
"The Twin Phoenix Manor welcomes you anytime! If you wish to come over and visit, we will definitely welcome you with open arms!"
"We of the Ironfist Company humbly invite you as a guest to our insignificant company house!"
…
One by one, members belonging to the upper echelons of each influence came over to talk to Lu Tianzi after greeting the Sect Master and Elders of the Nine Suns Sect.
It was obvious that they were all intending to befriend Lu Tianzi while he was still growing in terms of strength.
After all, it was likely that in a couple hundred years' time, Lu Tianzi would have grown to become an individual who was capable of ruling the entire Bluenight City with his fists!
While this was happening, the seniors from the Nine Suns Sect were also engaged with the many people who were crowding over.
Elder Mingxin, especially, had many people approaching her. That was likely due to her deceivingly youthful and beautiful appearance.
"We meet again, young brother Nanlu."
This time, it was a familiar person who had appeared before Lu Tianzi.
"Great grandfather," Nanqing Haowen immediately greeted in respect.
"Haowen, you have done well to be ranked in the top five," Nanqing Dingtian smiled in satisfaction. "Now, have you finally decided on your contract beast?"
"Eh?" Nanqing Haowen was obviously caught by surprise.
"From the looks of it, you still have not," Nanqing Dingtian shook his head in disapproval. "How many times have I told you? The more you delay this, the less benefit you would obtain out of it!"
This great grandson of his had always been excellent in all aspects. But if Nanqing Dingtian really had to name one bad thing about him, it would be that Nanqing Haowen was far too choosy when it came to selecting his contract beast!
"Yes, I understand," Nanqing Haowen nodded while forcing out a smile. It had already been the umpteenth time that he was being nagged at because of this matter.
"Forget it, I will talk to your parents about this later when I get home," Nanqing Dingtian quickly turned his attention back to Lu Tianzi. "I heard that you are on good terms with Haowen. I hope he has not given you too much trouble."
"I have been in his care instead," Lu Tianzi shook his head politely.
"Hahaha! Young brother Nanlu must be joking! In any case, I have a gift for young brother Nanlu here," Nanqing Dingtian pulled out a jade box that was just slightly bigger than a person's arm.
This was made of the same material as the small jade box that Nanqing Haowen had used to store his Darkwater Grape, only that this one was much larger in comparison.
Lu Tianzi's eyes lit up immediately when Nanqing Dingtian opened up the jade box.
In fact, it was not just him.
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn over by the strong medicinal smell that wafted out of the jade box. This medicinal smell was so potent that it completely overpowered even the delicious scents of the delicacies that had been served.
"This is a thousand years Blood Ginseng," Nanqing Dingtian announced proudly. "The older the Blood Ginseng is, the stronger its medicinal potency will be. A hundred years Blood Ginseng is capable of healing all ailments, a three hundred years Blood Ginseng can treat all poisons, a five hundred years Blood Ginseng is able heal all wounds. As for a thousand years Blood Ginseng, it is capable of aiding the regrowth of lost limbs!"
The people from the other influences smiled inwardly as they saw this.
On other occasions, they might have silenly cursed at Nanqing Dingtian for using such a precious treasure to bribe Lu Tianzi, spoiling the market for everyone else.
But this time was different.
Thanks to the hard work of the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, all of them had already heard rumours of how Nanqing Zhengxian had set up Lu Tianzi with malicious gossips, causing the latter to be penalised by the inscription tower.
Thus, this move by Nanqing Dingtian could only be considered as breaking the bank in order to make amends for the mistakes made by the younger generation.
In other words, it was something that deserved their pity instead!
With his vast knowledge in herbalism, Lu Tianzi naturally knew of the Blood Ginseng as well.
The description of the Blood Ginseng might be a little exaggerated, but it was true that a thousand years Blood Ginseng was a rare herb that was extremely precious.
When used well along with other herbs, it might truly be able to allow the regrowth of lost limbs!
At this moment, Nanqing Dingtian conveyed his voice directly to Lu Tianzi's head.
"I do not wish that this thousand years Blood Ginseng will be able to completely wipe clean whatever that brat Zhengxian had done. I will definitely punish him severely for this. However, I hope that young brother Nanlu will be able to give this old man some face and accept this thought of mine. In any case, this Blood Ginseng will definitely be helpful in regrowing young brother Nanlu's lost tail!"
Lu Tianzi was stumped for a moment.
He had almost forgotten the fact that in everyone else's eyes, he was a demon who had lost his tail.
"Then I will thank senior for the generous gift," Lu Tianzi did not put on any false pretences as he accepted the Blood Ginseng.
This was a perfectly innocent herb that had not committed any atrocities against him, why would he reject it?
In any case, by presenting him with such a precious gift, the other party had already taken a step back. Lu Tianzi naturally had to give the other party some face as well.
As for the punishment meted out to Nanqing Zhengxian, that would have to be accounted for separately!
Seeing that Lu Tianzi had accepted the thousand years Blood Ginseng, Nanqing Dingtian smiled in satisfaction. At least this Nanlu Tianzi had the sense to know his own limits.
"Hahaha! Family Head Nanqing sure is generous!" City Lord Nanlan laughed. "Taking this opportunity, this one has an announcement to make!"
As the host of the feast, his words naturally caused everyone to stop their discussions and turn their attention towards the City Lord.
"The grand feast tonight is to celebrate the completion of the Nine Suns Trial. But that is not the only reason for gathering everyone here today!" the City Lord continued. "Many of you might not know, but very soon, there will be a Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet being held in the capital, as suggested by His Majesty the King himself! As the Lord of Bluenight City, I have been tasked by His Majesty to bring along talented geniuses to attend this Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet in the captal."
"I believe everyone knows what I am trying to say by now," City Lord Nanlan laughed. "I, Lord of Bluenight City, hereby invite all of you to recommend talented geniuses from your respective influences to come along with me! However, do note that I will personally assess if they are qualified to come along! In this Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet, I will not allow any black sheep to disgrace my Bluenight City! For example, here are the people who will be attending from my Bluenight Palace. Any one of you, go ahead and show off a little for me."
On his signal, five youths stood up from their table. Even when facing the numerous leaders of the various influences, they did not show any signs of cowering in fear or anxiousness.
With a single look, anyone could tell that they were all elites among the younger generation.
At this moment, one of the five was about to step out from their table when he was suddenly stopped by the only female in the group.
This was the same young lady who had commented on the group from the Nine Suns Sect when they first entered.
The young lady walked over to the front while flashing a confident smile. Finally, she turned to look at the Nine Suns Sect's table.
"I am Nanlan Qianbing of Bluenight Palace, and I have heard that the top ranker of the Nine Suns Trial this year is a sixteen year old young man who is at the Peak Essence Building realm," the young lady spoke. "Coincidentally, that just happened to be the exact same as me. Considering our similar age and cultivation level, I wonder if I can have the honour of invite the esteemed Nanlu Tianzi to show me some pointers?"
Lu Tianzi was surprised to be singled out specifically in this manner, but did not think much of it.
After all, this was just a friendly spar with a young lady who had not even entered Essence Condensation.
What bothered him was the similarity in name between this Nanlan Qianbing and the Nanlan Qianxue whom he knew.
Was she a sister of Nanlan Qianxue?
That was not entirely impossible, considering how she belonged to Bluenight Palace, the influence led by the father of Nanlan Qianxue.
Lu Tianzi stepped out and clasped his fist towards Nanlan Qianbing, "It is my honour instead."
"Oh, not at all! Instead, I have been thinking of how to thank you if you do agree! Thank goodness that you are accepting gifts at the moment! I have prepared one for you as well!" Nanlan Qianbing took out an exquisitely made mask from her spatial ring. "After racking my brains, I have finally thought of the perfect gift for you! Because you are perpetually hiding your cultivation level behind a concealment treasure, I thought that you must really love hiding! In that case, please accept this mask from me. It even has the ability to hide your facial features from the perception of martial artists, allowing you to truly hide your identity!"
Nanlan Qianbing let out a wide smile as she tossed the mask over towards Lu Tianzi, "Or in other words… this would be the perfect gift for a coward!"